Mountain driving tips?
 

I've found a ton of information on this site about how to get great milage on relatively flat roads but would like to know more about mountain hybrid techniques. Any high altitude hypermilers out there?

What is the best way to approach a hill from an FE standpoint? How about a 2,000 foot mountain pass? How high can I let the engine rev before the fuel economy really falls off (on a HCH II)?

On the downhills just coast as much as possible right? Anything else?

Thanks!

Re: Mountain driving tips?
 

For going up long and really steep roads, there's not a lot you can do. On the way down, coast as much as possible. If you need to slow down, you can try shifting to second to get more regeneration. On long downward slopes, your battery charge will be full pretty quickly and you may have to start using your real brakes.

Re: Mountain driving tips?
 

Your statement may be true on a HCH II (I have no idea), but not at all for TCH's... "Lower gear" translates to the "B" gear in our case, and you do NOT get more regen; on the contrary, you waste potential regen braking.

That said, yes your SOC may eventually get to 100% (even with "B") pretty quickly on long slopes, at which point it's all about real brakes (and engine braking, of course).

Re: Mountain driving tips?
 

My statement IS true for HCH IIs. You DO get more charging by putting it in second than by using the brake pedal. I was responding to a post by a fellow driver of the same hybrid (HCH II) and also a fellow resident of the Front Range. Did I imply that it applied to all hybrids?

What you said about the TCH may not be true (I have no idea--I've never driven one).;)

Re: Mountain driving tips?
 

Easy does it, Mr. Kite. Not looking for a tiff by any means, and I'll definitely give honor where honor's due for any mega-hypermiler -- living in the actual "high altitude" trenches, to boot! -- who is obviously much more FE-driven / FE-obsessed than myself. :angel:

This particular forum isn't just for HCH II members, and as such read by others as well. While maybe hastily phrased, my comment wasn't directed to your [in-depth, I can only assume] knowledge of the HCH II's characteristics per-se; it was just meant to be a point of clarification -- for other potential readers, incl. new HSD owners -- about the mere fact that not all hybrids are created equal (and no, let's NOT get into that particular debate/competition right now, that's again not the point I'm trying to make). Simply put, I didn't want any newbie HSD owner to read that comment in a "general topics discussion" forum and think it'd work for him/her as well.

'Nuff Said. Can you pls bury that hatchet? :beer: 's on me the next time I'm in town!

Re: Mountain driving tips?
 

There is no tiff or hatchet to bury. I also do not question what you said about the TCH. I only copied your tone and style in my response to you to show how it could be interpreted. That's why I added the wink at the end.

Cheers.